Many Children's Breakfast Cereals Contain As Much Sugar As Seven Chocolate Fingers

03/02/2015 16:04
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Updated
20 May 2015

Keith Kendrick
Parentdish UK

Many children's breakfast cereals contain as much as three teaspoons of sugar in a 30g bowl – the same amount that's in seven and a half chocolate fingers.

The campaign group Action on Sugar says this is 18 per cent more than the last time statistics were compiled in 2012 and says sweet cereals are linked to childhood obesity.

Aldi Harvest Morn Choco Rice had the highest level of sugar out of the 50 cereals tested by Action on Sugar – and 14 of them were one-third sugar.

Morrisons Honey & Nut Corn Flakes and Sainsbury's Honey Nut Corn Flakes came in at 36.3g per 100g – up by 8 per cent compared with three years ago, although this is disputed.

The amount in Kellogg's Frosties was 37g per 100g and for its Crunchy Nut was 25g per 100g, neither of which has changed.

Now campaigners are calling on the government to clamp down on the industry, scrap self regulation and force changes in sugary cereals to prevent a new generation of sugar addicts.

Graham MacGregor, Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine at Queen Mary University of London and chairman of Action on Sugar, said: "Children quickly become used to the taste of high-sugar cereals and find healthier ones less palatable, which has long-term implications on their health.

"One of the greatest failures in tackling Britain's obesity epidemic is the government's appeasement of the food industry - we cannot allow this to go on any longer."